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In 2011, Our Lady’s Hospice & Care Services, Dublin, launched a cook book called The Mixing Bowl, which contained a collection of recipes contributed by the residents and clients of the Extended Care Unit (ECU) and the Community Reablement Unit (CRU) in Harold’s Cross. The cookbook was a great success and sold 9,000 copies, raising over €95,000. Six years on, they are now delighted to bring you the sequel!

The Mixing Bowl, Second Helpings is a special collection of tried and trusted family recipes that have been generously shared by 67 patients, residents, volunteers and staff of Our Lady’s Hospice & Care Services. A longtime volunteer at the Hospice, Cepta Lyons, spent two years working with staff and patients to bring the book together.

With 77 recipes and beautiful photographs, the eclectic mix in the book includes typical family favourites served from breakfast through to supper time, in homes all around Ireland for generations and still today.

Some of the featured recipes include:

Una and John Fletcher’s Lemon Butter Cake, a recipe that has been part of their repertoire throughout the 57 years of marriage they have shared.

Patricia Betts’ Boatman’s Stew, so named in honour of her father, Patrick, who created it while working as “Master” on a coal barge on the Royal Canal.

Alice Victory’s Speedy Banoffee, which although now has been safely tried and tested, it once caused the ruin of her kitchen as a result of an exploding can of condensed milk!

Charity patron and renowned chef Neven Maguire shared his recipe for ‘Chicken Thighs Braised in Cider with Sweet Potatoes’ saying, “This is one of my all-time favourites, one that I find myself returning to again and again. It has tons of flavour but takes very little time to get in the oven compared to traditional casseroles".

Neven added, "This book is a beautiful collection of firm family favourites that every home should have in its kitchen. It contains not only the recipes of meals enjoyed by families throughout the country but the memories of the moments that have accompanied them. This is the type of book you pass down to a son or daughter and I’m very proud to be supporting such an important book for such a worthy charity.”

The Mixing Bowl, Second Helpings costs €15 and is available in all good books shops nationwide.

Sliabh Liag Distillery is Donegal’s first distillery in 175 years and the directors, James and Moira Doherty, are passionate about creating brands inspired by local lore and legends, rooted in the Donegal Gaeltacht, where the new distillery will be built on the slopes, near the Sliabh Liag Cliffs.

The Sliabh Liag Distillery will officially launch An DúlamánIrish Maritime Gin this weekend, on Friday 27th October. An Dúlamán is inspired by the Donegal coast and the ingredients found around the Sliabh Liag peninsula.

The new gin’s name comes from the traditional song Dúlamán na Binne Bhuí, translated as Collecting Seaweed from the Yellow Cliffs, which was sung by the famous Donegal band Clannad, among others.

The inspiration for An Dúlamán came about during a foraging seaweed trip in Donegal, as James Doherty explains. “My wife Moira was out picking Dillisk (Palmaria palmata) with my aunt at Muckross Head, close to Killybegs, and she asked the question ‘has anyone ever put this into alcohol?’. The seeds of an idea were born that day and we’re delighted to be able to share the result this weekend.”

An Dúlamán Gin has a recipe unique to the gin category. The coast around the Sliabh Liag peninsula has long held a rich bounty for the shore gatherer and, in An Dúlamán, that knowledge and some modern innovation have brought a unique “umami” twist to the world of gin.

“An Dúlamán is made using only the finest Donegal Sweet Kombu (Sugar Kelp), Dillisk (Dulse), Pepper Dulse, Carrageen Moss and Channel Wrack", adds James. "The Pepper Dulse, sometimes known as the “truffle of the sea” is the most sensitive of these coastal treasures and can only be harvested on a full moon when the tides and the wild Atlantic work in our favour".

“Once collected, each botanical is treated on its own merits. Some are dried to intensify their flavours and others frozen to capture the delicate umami essence. Following this, some of the ingredients go into Méabh, our hand beaten copper pot still, and we add the more challenging ones into the flavour basket to be distilled into An Dúlamán, Irish Maritime Gin. The result of this devilishly narrow cut is a taste that captures fresh juniper, an umami richness and the dry tang of sea breeze,” says James.

James knows the drinks industry well having held senior positions with major drinks suppliers SABMiller in Asia, Foster’s in Australia and William Grant & Sons. He and his wife Moira are joined by James Keith, the Hughes family, Dom De Lorenzo and John Davidson in their mission to reclaim the distilling heritage of Donegal.

“The artisanal gin category is exploding and with Donegal officially the coolest place on the planet", say Moira. "We feel it’s an exciting time for the county and we want to thank everyone from the local community and further afield who helped us along the way.”

James believes the new distillery will boost employment in the local community, while also bringing more visitors to the area. “We have 5 employees today and with construction on the main Sliabh Liag Distillery, we will create employment for up to 40 people once the distillery and visitor centre is fully operational. The Sliabh Liag Cliffs are Donegal’s main visitor attraction with almost 200,000 visitors each year.

Impression of the Sliabh Liag Distillery, when all the work has finished

Food & Drink Tourism in Ireland is an area of huge growth and there’s been an explosion of craft gin in recent years. Construction of the new distillery will begin next year. The company has a portfolio of four spirits brands and has already launched its first expression, an independent bottling of Irish Whiskey named The Silkie.

An Dúlamán is presented in a dark bottle reminiscent of those found on the Armada wrecks along the coast of Donegal. The bottle’s labelling in drawn by a local artist and inspired by the Book of Kells. Each bottle is hot wax sealed and the batch numbers are linked to the lunar phases!

The inaugural Irish International Fashion and Food Summit (IIFFS), takes place in Sligo from the 3rd – 5th November, and it's a summit like no other! It’s a combination of Fashion & Food, and it is being held in one of the most outstanding places of beauty in Europe – Sligo!

Fashion & Food have always been linked at the hip, and the concept of an International Fashion and Food Summit, held here in Ireland, was developed by Joanne Costello, a Sligo native and a graduate of fashion styling from the prestigious Central St. Martin’s College of Art & Design, London.

"The reason for a Fashion and Food Summit is to provide a platform to allow each industry to be inspired both creatively and commercially", said Joanne. "As well as being a showcase for both Irish fashion and Irish food, it will also allow interaction with international experts from both industries".

The IIFFS Food Series will feature a vast array of Ireland's most recognised and respected chefs, business owners and operators, critics and producers. The three day event will see numerous presentations and exciting opportunities for audiences to interact with a wealth of Culinary Personalities the likes of which has never been seen before in Sligo.

Philip O’Brien, Event Director said “the culinary aspect to the IIFFS is very exciting, we have such an abundance of talented chefs, producers and food entrepreneurs in Ireland that all who attend the food series should learn and gain inspiration. One of the aims of the IIFFS is to generate debate and profile for Irish culinary reputation internationally and we will get input and perspective from those who have been and those who are pushing the boundaries”.

Some of the Irish chefs and food producers that are speaking at the event include Danni Barry, Mickael Viljanen, Denis Cotter, Jess Murphy, Prannie Rhattigan, Mags Kirwan, Deirdre Gysling, Ciaran Sweeney, Pádraic Óg Gallagher along with a host of others, who will speak about their unique experiences and will discuss the future of Irish food and food tourism.

In tandem with the Food series, the Fashion and Design events feature renowned international and national industry and business experts delivering workshops and talks on the business of fashion as well as inspiring creativity in various areas of the industry. This continues the summits central theme of inspiring and educating entrepreneurs in the creative sectors and providing tomorrows successful chefs and fashion industry professionals with the tools and knowledge to run commercially sustainable creative businesses.

Mayo’s first Économusée (roughly translated as a 'Working Museum') was officially opened on Thursday 12th October 2017, at Kelly’s Butchers, Newport by Maireád Lavery, Editor Irish Country Living – Irish Farmers Journal. The Économusée movement is an international network of artisans which was started in Québec, Canada and is steadily spreading worldwide. Kellys is just the third food Économusée in Ireland.

To become a member of the Économusée movement, a producer must "use traditional craft techniques in the production of its products and open its doors to the public in order to share the knowledge of its artisan crafts people."

Technically, an Économusée is a Tourism Experience at an artisan producers workplace, where you can learn about the product, its history and its production.

These rural artisan food and craft producers are supported to develop a tourism aspect to their operations providing a learning and interpretive experience for visitors. In Kelly’s case, the visits will be by pre-booking only. The Économusées form a tourism-based network, or trail, which helps the businesses expand their sales, to sustain employment and offers an enhanced visitor experience.

For over 80 years Kelly’s Butchers in Newport, Co. Mayo have been quietly making their mark with superior black and white puddings, the traditional putóg and speciality sausages. The company motto is “We make up to a standard, not down to a price” a confident declaration of a commitment to premium quality. The family business maintains their traditional methods and recipes, using only the highest quality Irish ingredients and these time-honoured processes are now the focus of the Économusée. Kelly’s sought-after artisan products are multiple award winners both in Ireland and internationally.

An Économusée is an important heritage tourism attraction and contributes to the sustainability of rural areas through the creation of direct employment and by providing an attraction that disperses tourists to rural regions.

Speaking at the opening, Mairéad Lavery said, “Kelly’s involvement in the Économusée movement arose because of The Craft Reach project, which is led in Ireland by Teagasc and funded by the EU Northern Periphery and Artic (NPA) Programme 2014-2020. The term Économusée is copyright protected and it is a recognised badge of quality which carries the tagline ‘Artisans at Work’. A network of 80 Économusées now exists internationally, with 45 based in Canada and 35 in 7 European countries including Ireland, Faroe Islands, Greenland, Iceland, Northern Ireland, Norway and Sweden."

Dr. Kevin Heanue who is leading the project for Teagasc commented, “The Économusée concept is an innovative model of rural enterprise support which helps artisan producers diversify their businesses into the cultural tourism market by providing them with a 6 step template to help them structure the visitor experience and also links them with an international network of like-minded artisan producers. The network will benefit greatly from a producer with the reputation of Kelly’s becoming a member”.

Kenneth, Cormac, Sean & Seamus Kelly carry on the family business
founded more than 80 years ago by Dominic Kelly

The Kelly’s Butchers Économusée is well placed to attract the “culturally curious” tourist, who represents a significant market segment in Tourism Ireland and Fáilte Ireland’s marketing strategy. As Seán Kelly said, “The Économusée is all about bringing our history right into the present day. It’s a showcase for the time honoured, traditional ways of making black pudding and a chance for us to introduce visitors to Newport and our local area”.

An insight into the Économusée Network - the types of businesses, their location and background can found at www.economusee.eu

Christmas cakes are made in many different ways, but generally they are variations on the classic fruitcake. They can be light, dark, moist, dry, heavy, spongy etc. The cakes are made in many different shapes, with frosting, royal icing, a dusting of icing sugar or simple and plain.

The spices and dried fruits in the cake are supposed to represent the exotic eastern spices brought by the three Wise Men to the newborn King!The fruit is all soaked overnight in the whiskey, in a covered bowl, before use.

I always make three cakes - one for Christmas Day and two to eat every day for tea until then!

My Christmas Cake Ingredients:

150g (5oz) raisins

125g (4½oz) stoned dates

125g (4½oz) sultanas

100g (4oz) glace cherries

100ml (4 fl oz) Irish whiskey

(all of the above are soaked together overnight before making the cake)

225g (8oz) real butter

extra butter for greasing

200g (7oz) soft brown sugar

4 eggs

grated rind of 1 lemon & 1 orange

2tbls black treacle (light molasses)

225g (8oz) plain (all purpose) flour

½ tsp salt

1 rounded tsp baking powder

1 tsp mixed spice

¼ tsp ground ginger

¼ tsp grated nutmeg

¼ tsp ground clove

50g (2oz) ground almonds

50ml (2 fl oz) extra whiskey

My Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 150°C (300°F), Gas mark 2. Grease a 20cm (8") cake tin and line it with greaseproof paper. Wrap some Newspaper around the outside and tie it with string. This will help the outside of the cake from browning too much during the cooking and prevent it from drying out.

2. Beat together, in a bowl, the sugar & butter until creamy. Gradually add the eggs, dusting a little of the flour in with each egg added. Add the treacle & grated fruit rinds and mix well.

3. Sift the flour and baking powder into the bowl of soaked fruit and add the salt, spices and almonds. Stir all of this together, mixing well.

4. Fold the fruit mix into the egg mix, stirring evenly. Spoon the completed mix into the cake tin. Pull a little dip back in the middle of the cake so that when it rises, it will level itself off better.

5. Bake in the centre of the oven for 3 hours. If it is browning a little too much cover it loosely with tinfoil. Cook for another ½ hour. The cake is cooked when a fine skewer, inserted into the centre, comes out clean and dry.

Make small holes all over the warm cake with a skewer and spoon the extra 50ml whiskey over the holes until it has all soaked in. Leave the cake to cool in the tin. When the cake is cold, remove it from the tin, peel off the lining paper, then wrap it first in clean greaseproof paper and then in foil.

A small amount of brandy, sherry or whiskey (depending on your own favourite drink) should be spooned over the cake every week until Christmas. This process is called “feeding the cake”. You also should turn the cake over, each week, before you pour another little bit of your favourite drink over it. This ensures that all that lovely alcohol penetrates to the very middle of the Christmas cake and definitely creates that "Yum!" factor on Christmas Day. Enjoy!

The Irish Food Guide is...

The Irish Food Guide Blog www.IrishFoodGuide.ie includes news, foodie chat, recipes, award results, links and other general information on the Food & Tourism Industry in Ireland.

It is written & curated by Zack Gallagher, Donegal Town, Co Donegal, Ireland.

“My Blog is a slice of the Irish Food ‘Network’. I’m a Chef with over 27 years experience and also have a background in media. I’m passionate about Irish Food Tourism and I believe that a rising tide really can lift all boats!”

Supporting Irish Food created by passionate producers and encouraging the Irish food & hospitality industry to use modern social media methods to increase their business.

Zack is building an all-Ireland Food Tourism network to assist Tour Operators bringing guests into Ireland to connect easily with artisan Irish food producers, so as they can experience the provenance and personality behind our Irish food Visit www.IrishFoodTours.ie